# I pit the legal community of Steubenville Ohio **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 4, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016 "2013-01-04T00:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/1 "2013-01-04T00:20:48Z")
[http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/01/03/anonymous-takes-on-rape-culture-leaks-video-of-steubenville-jocks-mocking-rape-victim-video-nsfw/](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/01/03/anonymous-takes-on-rape-culture-leaks-video-of-steubenville-jocks-mocking-rape-victim-video-nsfw/) > [@](#): > > Back in August, a 16-year-old **Savannah Dietrich risked going to jail for tweeting the names of her two rapists**. Why did she feel the need to do this? Because her hometown of Steubenville, Ohio is so enamored of its sports that it seemed odd to punish two star lacrosse players for stripping Savannah naked and penetrating her with their fingers while she lay unconscious from too much drinking. And it wasn’t like the court had to take her word for it. They took \*\*pictures and videos. Then they put it online. \*\*Still, the rapists got a slap on the wrist (community service) and **Savannah faced jail time for tweeting their names** after a judge told her to keep quiet, essentially ordering the victim to protect the identity of her rapists. > > This is rape culture in all its glory. Star athletes are more important than their victims even when there is no doubt they are guilty. Wouldn’t want to ruin their lives or anything over some girl who got drunk and should have known better, right? Now Anonymous has become involved. They’ve posted a video of the perps bragging about their deeds and other members of their “rape crew” laughing it up. The video at the site (and on YouTube) is raw and NSFW. The link above is SFW. The priorities of the good(?) folk of Steubenville, especially the legal and school establishments are in serious need of adjustment. The names of the perps are at the first link and the name of the judge at the second. Original Huff Post story: > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. This is too much like the cover-up of the rapes at Notre Dame. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/2 "2013-01-04T07:04:43Z")
Don’t you know that there is no such thing as rape culture in the US? And that accused rapists have a right to privacy, even if they’ve broadcast their victim’s name and image all over the internet? ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/4 "2013-01-04T09:55:30Z")
[Local Leaks blog on the topic.](http://localleaks.blogs.ru/) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/5 "2013-01-04T14:13:31Z")
The linked story in the OP isn’t about Steubenvill at all, it is about a rape in Kentucky. The Steubenville case involved the Ohio town’s football team and Anonymous has been leaking details, including a video of a player from the school’s baseball team laughing about the rape, apparently at the party in question. It is alleged the players carried the unconcious girl to three different parties and that the girl found out about the rapes through social media postings about the night in question. [http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/01/steubenville-high-football-rape-crew/60554/](http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/01/steubenville-high-football-rape-crew/60554/) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/6 "2013-01-04T15:29:50Z")
What the fuck does the “legal community” have to do with either incident? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/7 "2013-01-04T15:35:57Z")
From what I had understood when it happened the rapists were minors and the appointed prosecutor bargained against the wishes of his client (he works for the state not her) which resulted in the names concealed. She violated the gag order. I sympathize with her anger, but it’s not as cut and dried as it appears in the OP’s cite. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/8 "2013-01-04T15:45:28Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > From what I had understood when it happened the rapists were minors and the appointed prosecutor bargained against the wishes of his client (he works for the state not her) which resulted in the names concealed. > > She violated the gag order. I sympathize with her anger, but it’s not as cut and dried as it appears in the OP’s cite. HEY! Don’t get your “facts” and “due process” all up in my indignation! ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/9 "2013-01-04T15:57:33Z")
I can’t believe that Steubenville story. I will never understand how football culture takes over an area so completely that rape is glossed over and forgotten. Like Penn State, I would be totally fine with that town losing it’s precious fucking team for the next decade. I am also glad to see Anonymous is on the case. They do so well with this kind of thing. And I’m triply glad that they went all the way to the Sheriff and prosecutor’s corruption. I hope this rips the town wide apart. They deserve it for aiding and abetting such asshole behavior. And the boys that were directly involved in this, raping and peeing on this girl. Jail. For years and years. Ruin their entire life. Not just as a punishment, but as a lesson. There is something far more chilling in this story of “regular” kids who calmly and happily repeatedly raped an unconscious girl than a more “ordinary” street attack. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/10 "2013-01-04T16:11:00Z")
Yeah, the Steubenville story is really distrubing. The NY Times had a good article on it [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/sports/high-school-football-rape-case-unfolds-online-and-divides-steubenville-ohio.html?pagewanted=all](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/sports/high-school-football-rape-case-unfolds-online-and-divides-steubenville-ohio.html?pagewanted=all) As with what is happening in India, it seems that they have let a sick subculture take hold and then find themselves surprised that people are outraged at their behavior. The police chief in Steubenville has desperately trying to get witnesses to come forward, even though they took this girl to three parties and dozens of people must have seen something (or participated on some level). ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/11 "2013-01-04T16:21:47Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > There is something far more chilling in this story of “regular” kids who calmly and happily repeatedly raped an unconscious girl than a more “ordinary” street attack. Does the “‘ordinary’ street attack” form of rape even exist anywhere other than the minds of apologists for other forms of rape? ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/12 "2013-01-04T17:02:51Z")
> [@LeeshaJoy](#): > > Does the “‘ordinary’ street attack” form of rape even exist anywhere other than the minds of apologists for other forms of rape? I dunno - in the past decade or so, we’re finding out that family/friend rape is far more prevalent that just a random street attack. Certainly, it’s happened to someone. Either way, it was a nice shorthand as a comparison for how horrified I am by this - just the institutional sickness, and the role of girls as vagina boxes to the rapists, and the football worship in small towns. This is far more disturbing than a street crime, in the same way that the Connecticut shooting was far more disturbing that a street shooting. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/13 "2013-01-04T17:27:37Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > What the fuck does the “legal community” have to do with either incident? Well according to one linked article, the prosecutor on the case had a son on the football team, and pressured the girl and her family not to bring charges against the accused. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/14 "2013-01-04T18:12:47Z")
Also, some photos and videos were apparently deleted from devices while the devices where in the custody of Sheriff’s department and a judge recused himself because his grandaughter dated one of the accused and it is alleged that the judge did not recuse himself until he was pressured to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/15 "2013-01-04T18:22:15Z")
> [@LeeshaJoy](#): > > Does the “‘ordinary’ street attack” form of rape even exist anywhere other than the minds of apologists for other forms of rape? [About a quarter of rapes are perpetrated by strangers](http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vvcs9310.pdf) (though this figure includes those perpetrated by victims who were unable to identify their assailants because they were blindfolded or unconscious or whatever). “Street” rapes are fairly rare, though. Most rapes occur in homes, offices, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/16 "2013-01-04T19:14:59Z")
From the NY Times article: > [@](#): > > Even without much official public information about the night, some people in town are skeptical of the police account, like Nate Hubbard, a Big Red volunteer coach. > > As he stood in the shadow of Harding Stadium, where he once dazzled the crowd with his runs, Hubbard gave voice to some of the popular, if harsh, suspicions. > > “The rape was just an excuse, I think,” said the 27-year-old Hubbard, who is No. 2 on the Big Red’s career rushing list. > > “What else are you going to tell your parents when you come home drunk like that and after a night like that?” said Hubbard, who is one of the team’s 19 coaches. “She had to make up something. Now people are trying to blow up our football program because of it.” Victim-blaming at its finest, folks. Also, 19 coaches? The Fuck? I know a lot of these small-towns take football seriously, but that’s absurd. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/17 "2013-01-04T19:22:48Z")
- The original post was mistaken because of that. > [@](#): > > Correction: I mistakenly conflated two different stories in this article. Both involved a 16 year old girl being raped and photographed while unconscious by two local high school sports stars that were being protected by their sports crazed community. However, Savannah Dietrich was raped in August of 2011 and her close call with jail time occurred summer of 2012, shortly before the victim (her identity is currently unknown) of the second crime was raped by Mays and Richmond this past August. Their trial is set for February. The second rape is the subject of the Anonymous posting. Savannah’s legal ordeal is concluded with no jail time for her but only weak justice for her attackers. In my defense, it never crossed my mind that there could be two stories this disturbing yet almost identical in surface details. I’m not sure which is worse: that I mixed up two stories or that the stories existed in the first place for me to confuse. All errors are confined to the first paragraph. The rest of the article is accurate. Also in Steubenville? But it seems that in at least the second case, law enforcement attempted to investigate, which makes me feel a bit better about them. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/18 "2013-01-04T19:27:47Z")
Well, the police in Stuebenville are investigating, but there are accusations that the Sheriff’s department is obstructing the investigation. As I said, the Sheriff’s department seized some devices and while in their care, photos and videos have been deleted. The parents of the victim did manage to grab some information off of the internet before people started deleting them and turned a flash drive full of photos over to the police when they filed their charges. Also, it is now rumoured that the attack was pre-planned and that she had been drugged. I don’t have the stomach to watch the 12 minute video of Michael Colin Nodianos joking about the gang raping, but I hope that little shit loses his scholarship to Ohio State and ends up back in that shithole town for the rest of his life. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/19 "2013-01-04T19:36:05Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > [Local Leaks blog on the topic.](http://localleaks.blogs.ru/) Just a heads up, there is a (most likely underage) semi-nude picture of a girl on that blog (girl shot from behind in a thong.) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/20 "2013-01-04T20:31:34Z")
She should put a billboard downtown saying these guys are rapists, with photos from their little youtube post. If she asks for donations to pay for it, I will pony up some dough. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016/21 "2013-01-05T03:07:53Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > She should put a billboard downtown saying these guys are rapists, with photos from their little youtube post. > > If she asks for donations to pay for it, I will pony up some dough. I now see from the link that the case has not been adjudicated. That changes my evaluation of Anonymous’ actions. Their interference now seems premature to me. > **[Leaked Video Of High School Rape Suspects May Poison Jurors: Defense](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steubenville-high-rape-suspects-fair-trial_n_2410365?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing8%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D252975)** > > Leaked Video Of High School Rape Suspects May Poison Jurors: Defense > [@](#): > > Jan 4 (Reuters) - Two Ohio high-school football players accused of raping a teenage girl may not get a fair trial after a photo and video allegedly associated with the case were posted on the Internet by the computer hacking group Anonymous, a lawyer for one of the accused said on Friday. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-legal-community-of-steubenville-ohio/646016.md?page=2)